Welcome another edition of Awesome Clix, where we showcase some of the best Golden Age characters that's still competitive in today's Modern Age games! Today we highlight possibly the best Probability Control character in the game today -- the Fantastic Forces Scarlet Witch!

Just take a look at this glorious piece for just 62 points!

She was pretty potent when she first came out, but in today's game (where Probability Control, Perplex, and Outwit are based on range) she's a beast; you're hard pressed to find any utility/support figure with a 10 range these days.

Probability control + 10 range is pretty potent already, but what adds icing to the cake is her Stealth and team ability! The strategy is pretty simple: move her on high ground on hindering terrain (where she can use Stealth and stay hidden) and just start forcing everyone to reroll their dice! That Team Ability lets her see through all hindering and Stealth, letting her handle all those pesky teams!

Edit: FANT0MEX made a good point below. Stealth now only works during your opponent's turn, so the only real use for the TA would be so that (A) she can move freely over hindering terrain or (B) she wants to shoot someone who is stealthed on her turn. Under this circumstance, I'd say that the ROOKIE version is best version to use, which makes it even cheaper to field her!

(Remember, back when Fantastic Forces came out, Stealth worked all the time, during every turn)

EXPERIENCED VERSIONIf you want something a little cheaper, you can go with the EXP version, who still keeps the 10 range and full dial of Probability Control! However, you lose out on that Ultimates Team Ability, so she can't deal with stealthy characters, but she'd still be very useful to help you re-roll your own dice (and she still has that 1 click of stealth).

ROOKIE VERSIONAnd finally we have the super cheap rookie version. If just want a 10-Range PC'er to reroll your own dice, then this is going to be your best choice. The Brotherhood TA gives her free movement to get her into position, and she still keeps her 1 click of Stealth. If you had a choice between the Rookie and Vet, I'd definitely go with the rookie version!

Edit: Note from FANT0MEX: "Your opponent only uses Stealth during your turn, so you could still reroll their attack rolls regardless of whether they have Stealth or not."

@The LE: Just wanted to point out that B/C/F only requires a close combat action to have been used to activate and is not an action in and of itself. So it can be used at the same time as Charge/Flurry or Exploit, but not with HSS. You're spot on with everything else though :)

Posted by: Nightwing on 5/28/2015 7:12:47 PM

@THE 1 N only DEADPOOL: Take a look at the official HeroClix rulebook (you can download it at HeroClix.com) and go to page 9, "types of actions". Specifically, look at the boxed section at the bottom right of that page -- it explains the difference between actions and attacks.

I'll take a look at Vertigo and consider it for a future article. Stay tuned - I am starting a brand new article series next week.

Posted by: The Le on 5/28/2015 6:58:00 PM

@le: this isnt my idea that i wanna tell you.but i have a new "WORST CLIX EVER" Mutant mayhems Vertigo!!! XD

Posted by: THE 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/28/2015 6:10:36 PM

@le" you know how many games i could have one from knowing this? people use HHS p/pb on me all the time?? :/ but i have a pretty cool idea for a new article or segment for heroclix world lol wanna hear it?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/28/2015 5:47:10 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: No no no no no. You need to find a judge and have them teach you the rules. "Actions" are a fundamental part of teh game. You use a little action token to give your characters an action, and you can only give your figures 1 action token per turn. Hence HSS is a POWER action (token required) and CHARGE is also an Power Action (token required), and Leap/Climb is a MOVE action (token required). The only time you don't assign an action token is when it is a FREE action.

Posted by: The Le on 5/28/2015 3:49:38 PM

@LE: see i was always told that a close combat action always can happen after a close combat attack and a ranged combat action after a ranged combat attack?? im confused cause if i choose to use HSS as a "close combat attack" how come i cant use Exploit weakness as the "close combat action for that attack"?? lol im really confused here XD

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/28/2015 3:25:07 PM

@lE" seriously? so if i make a close combat attack i cant do a close combat action with Hss??? im so confused lol

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/28/2015 3:14:44 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: Nope. HSS clearly only gives you a ranged or close combat ATTACK (not action). So it's just a normal attack roll without powers. HOWEVER, if you have a trait or special power that does bonus effects with "any attack" then that will be fine.

Also note that if have super strength, and you're carrying an object, you can use that object as part of the HSS close combat attack.

HOWEVER, you cannot use the object as part of a HSS ranged attack -- because throwing an object requires a close combat action (it's an odd rule)!

Posted by: The Le on 5/28/2015 1:46:23 PM

@LE: yeah ive heard that. but about HSS. i thought you can make either a "ranged" or "close" combat action? you cant use like anything close or ranged combat action wise with the attack?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/28/2015 1:23:01 PM

No, the Avengers/Brotherhood TA cannot be used for Charge or running Shot. Both of those powers require a POWER ACTION and lets you "move for free".

CHARGE requires a POWER ACTION that lets you (1) move then (2) use a CLOSE COMBAT ACTION as a free action. A CLOSE COMBAT ACTION would be something like B/C/F or EXPLOIT WEAKNESS.

HYPERSONIC SPEED is a POWER ACTION that lets you (1) move and (2) make an attack anytime within that movement. Note that this attack is not a close combat action nor is it a ranged combat action (therefore you cannot use it with B/C/F or Exploit Weakness)

The Avengers/Brotherhood TA gives you a free MOVE ACTION, which will not work with any of the powers above.

The rule of thumb is this: you cannot give a character more than 1 NON-FREE action per turn.

Posted by: The Le on 5/28/2015 12:43:12 PM

@ LE" so it cant be used like charge or running shot? like if i move using the BoTm tA and i get in range, i cant attack as my action for my turn? cause it says. " Dosent count as an availible action for your turn? like move up for free and then attack as an action? or what about move than use like running shot or charge for the power action/attack action?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/28/2015 12:30:06 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: Nope. The Brotherhood (and Avengers) TA gives you a free MOVE action, and Move-and-Attack requires a POWER action.

The only thing this TA really works with is LEAP/CLIMB (which is also a move action)

Posted by: The Le on 5/28/2015 4:41:30 AM

@ LE: yeah no doubt, ok i have a question about the Brotherhood of mutants TA. i know it allows the use of a move action for free. but can you use it as a move and attack power?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/27/2015 7:09:50 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: People who call out others because of grammar/spelling are idiots. I see it all the time -- when they don't have a good come back or argument, they attack your typing. It's very common, and it's very Lame. no wat i mean?

Posted by: The Le on 5/27/2015 6:57:20 PM

@LE:well thats understandable its just i tend to make alot of typos and didnt want to be called out on my lack of grammar due to my typos lol makes me feel like a schmuck haha

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/27/2015 6:36:28 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: That's a little difficult to do because there is no "login" requirement at HeroClix World -- that is an intentional design on my part since I don't feel people should really be compelled to create yet-another-login. The only other option I've considered is to implement Facebook-comments or Disqus comments, but that would mean posters lose their anonymity.

Posted by: The Le on 5/27/2015 6:30:27 PM

or the 'agin" in my last post lol see what i mean xD

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/27/2015 6:28:48 PM

hey Le: i have a suggestion. its prolly already been said but im just gonna say it. you should update your page so when we message. if we make a typo and dont catch it till we post. we can edit our post agin and it just fixes it? that way if for example my "Ns" or Os' dont work well on my phone my sentences wont say. "At the start of your turn. Put Deadpool n his 3rd click". lol it happens all the time XD

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/27/2015 6:27:32 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: Tough call -- I get a lot of kids who read this site you know (or so the parents have told me). As for the cover image (for this article), it actually comes from Marvel's website. If you google "Scarlet Witch" and look in the images section, you can find the full image (I cropped it down quite a bit).

Posted by: The Le on 5/27/2015 12:34:38 PM

OH COME ON le: that wasnt that bad XD

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/27/2015 12:28:06 PM

@MANTIS WARRIOR: you know i never actually thought of it that way. and now that you make that point i understand it better now

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 3:23:09 PM

I like the current way stealth is worded. When a stealth character is hiding you can't see them but if they pop up to make an attack you can and therefore prob them.

Oh and back to topic that Rookie SW has been in my Brotherhood team since forever and has no sign of ever leaving. She is simply perfect. The E and V are both good if you want to take the odd pot shot at opposing figures rather than just PC all game but for 14 or 27 points more respectively you can usually use the points better elsewhere. I also love the fact that the Brotherhood doesn't care which universe you are from, she hangs out with the main universe team without breaking theme.

Posted by: MantisWarrior on 5/26/2015 2:50:16 PM

>> this is just really stupid.

It kinda is, but it actually fixes an old problem. In the old days, Stealth was always on. So, when your Batman (in stealth) makes an attack, you could NOT Probability-Control his attack roll with friendly (and an opponent could not do it either). The ONLY way to do that was to "turn off" Batman's Stealth before he makes an attack roll (the PC'er has a way to see through Stealth).

That was really silly, and led to problems in my own tournaments where a player would say "well, I *meant* to turn it off". But that as very consistent - if Batman is stealth, then neither his opponents or allies can see him.

The real problem was that you could not make a "line-of-Fire" to yourself. So if Batman (in stealth) also had Probability Control, he couldn't use it to make himself reroll the attack... unless he turned off Stealth before the attack roll. That was an extremely stupid rule, but it was technically consistent. (this is where that giant/stealth FAQ entry from 2011 comes from).

In the above scenarios, Vet Scarlet Witch was really useful because her Ultimates TA meant that she could PC any ally, without the need for turning off Stealth before making the attack roll... and she could PC an opposing character's attack roll, seeing past their stealth.

So when they implemented the new Stealth wording -- "When it is not your turn, hindered lines of fire drawn to this character are blocked." -- all those problems went away and we now have something that is much simpler and cleaner.

Unfortunately it also made Probability Control more powerful because you can now ALWAYS PC an opponent's attack during the attacker's turn (since Stealth is no longer active on the attacker's turn). And to go with that, they reduced the ranged effect of Probability Control -- it used to ALWAYS be a range of 10 but now it's based on the character's range value (minimum 6).

...end of history lesson

Posted by: The Le on 5/26/2015 1:59:27 PM

this is just really stupid.

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 1:46:03 PM

"Stealth: When it is not your turn, hindered lines of fire drawn to this character are blocked."

"Your Turn" applies to the controller, aka you.

If Bob owns Scarlet Witch (who has stealth), then that stealth is never active on Bob's turn. It is ALWAYS active on everyone else's turn.

Posted by: The Le on 5/26/2015 1:43:12 PM

When it is not your turn, hindered lines of fire drawn to this character are blocked. Ok so if i attack on my turn and im in hindering terrain its still my turn. so with the rules stating as above. probability control still cant be used because its not "their" turn. regardless the ruling stated on Pc. the line of fire is still "blocked" to that character because its not their turn. the character using the Pc would need a clear line of sight. but its not "their" turn its mine. so the ACTION WOULD BE BLOCKED.

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 1:34:54 PM

Btw: "A giant character that uses Stealth cannot have a line of fire drawn to it when in hindering terrain, regardless of the elevation of an opposing attacking figure."

That is from the 2011 FAQ, which is out of date. You need to update to the 2014 FAQ.

That entry on giants used to be true when Stealth was on "all the time" -- i.e. Stealth was optional and you had to "turn it off" on your turn if you wanted to PC yourself. But now that Stealth is only active on your opponent's turn, those rules are obsolete.

Posted by: The Le on 5/26/2015 1:28:33 PM

•Adjacency is not an issue when determining a line of fire to a character using Stealth and occupying hindering terrain.

Powers like "Probability Control", "Perplex", and "Outwit", which use a line of fire to determine if the effect can take place, "CANNOT" target a character using "Stealth" that occupies hindering terrain; Even if the character with the ability is the character using Stealth itself.

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 1:27:20 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: You're talking about adjacency, which is similar, but not quite. If your friendly is standing next to Batman, and Batman is on a hindering terrain, then you still need to calculate "line-of-fire". If you have it, then you can PC him. If you don't then you can't.

What you wrote is correct - during your turn, the opposing Batman has stealth, so even if it is adjacent to you, you need to calculate if you have line-of-fire to make a ranged attack or used a ranged power like Outwit or Probability control.

However, if it is your OPPONENT'S turn, then his stealth doesn't work, so you calculating line-of-fire is easier. Makes sense?

Posted by: The Le on 5/26/2015 1:22:47 PM

BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS??Any line of fire drawn to this character that crosses hindering terrain, including a square of hindering terrain occupied by this character, is blocked.

Official FAQ

•Adjacency is not an issue when determining a line of fire to a character using Stealth and occupying hindering terrain. Powers like Probability Control, Perplex, and Outwit, which use a line of fire to determine if the effect can take place, cannot target a character using Stealth that occupies hindering terrain, even if the character with the ability is the character using Stealth itself.

•A giant character that uses Stealth cannot have a line of fire drawn to it when in hindering terrain, regardless of the elevation of an opposing attacking figure.

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 12:41:09 PM

@the 1 N only DEADPOOL: Remember, you can only reroll your opponent's dice on HIS turn. So, during HIS turn the Stealth isn't working.

Conversely you can only reroll your dice on your turn, and during YOUR turn, YOUR Stealth isn't working.

Keep in mind that a long time ago, when Scarlet Witch came out, Stealth used to be active ALL THE TIME. So back then, having the Ultimates TA was really good. (back then, you could NOT force an opposing Batman to reroll if he was standing on hindering, because he was indeed stealthed on his turn) - the rules have obviously changed since then.

Posted by: The Le on 5/26/2015 12:36:00 PM

and if you can only use stealth on your turn? then whats the point of using stealth to hide from lines of fire drawn by an attacker not on your turn? renders it pointless?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 12:33:47 PM

@lE: but in order for her to re roll your attacks? isnt it the character using stealth the attacker?

1) On your opponent's turn they can't use Stealth. Therefore, when they make an attack roll, Scarlet witch can PC that roll as long as she has line of fire.

1a) Normally, during your opponent's turn, lines-of-fire is not blocked unless it's a wall (or some other blocking terrain). So even if Batman is standing in hindering, Scarlet Witch *does* have line of Fire to him as long as there there is no blocking terrain between them.

2) PC works as long as you have line-of-fire AND the target is within range (minimum 6). Since Scarlet Witch's range is 10, she can use PC to anyone within 10 range (that she has line-of-fire to)

Posted by: The Le on 5/26/2015 12:27:50 PM

Any line of fire drawn to this character that crosses hindering terrain, including a square of hindering terrain occupied by this character, is blocked.

Official FAQ

•Adjacency is not an issue when determining a line of fire to a character using Stealth and occupying hindering terrain. Powers like Probability Control, Perplex, and Outwit, which use a line of fire to determine if the effect can take place, cannot target a character using Stealth that occupies hindering terrain, even if the character with the ability is the character using Stealth itself.

•A giant character that uses Stealth cannot have a line of fire drawn to it when in hindering terrain, regardless of the elevation of an opposing attacking figure.AS STATED BY THE LE:

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 12:25:24 PM

EXAMPLE: A CHARACTER IN STEALTH CANT BE "OUTWITTED" BECAUSE THEY ARE STEALTH. "CANT DRAW A LINE OF SIGHT TO OUTWIT". WOULDNT THE SAME RULES APPLY TO PROBABILTIY CONTROL AND PERPLEX? EACH OF WHICH NEED TO BE IN A LINE OF SIGHT OF THE TARGETED CHARACTER? SO THAT BEING SAID A CHARACTER IN STEALTH MAKING AN ATTACK CANT BE SEEN TO FORCE A RE ROLL? CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG? ID REALLY LIKE TO KNOW THIS TO HELP MY GAME?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 12:19:09 PM

DUDE THEY MADE LIKE A TON OF SCARLET WITCHES AND ALL WHOM OF WHICH HAD THIS LOOK... AND @Fantomex who also has been one of my fav characters for YEARS.. is the wording for stealth" characters in hindering terrain cant be drawn any line of fire too. (not including stealth killers) im pretty sure the wording for prob control is> withing a "range minimum of 6? range meaning line of sight? line of sight being hindered by stealth? help me out here?

Posted by: the 1 N only DEADPOOL on 5/26/2015 12:10:42 PM

Your opponent only uses Stealth during your turn, so you could still reroll their attack rolls regardless of whether they have Stealth or not.

Posted by: FANT0MEX on 5/26/2015 11:25:30 AM

Wow, never really realized the buff that these figures got when they changed the range ruling for PC, P & O

Posted by: Lord Logan on 5/26/2015 10:44:06 AM

Wait, I only have the Rookie so I never realized the team associations. Why does she have Ultimate X-Men and Ultimates abilities? Did she ever dress like this in the comics?

Matter of fact, when was she on the Ultimate X-Men team?

And a friendly reminder: what with the Ultimate Universe ending soon, shouldn't we be seeing a few more of these characters clixed?